Electricity Generation by State

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Last updated January 9, 2023

Do you know where electricity comes from in your state? Depending on its location, energy can come from sources ranging from nuclear power, wind, or solar energy. There are also other energy sources to consider, like coal-powered energy in most states and hydroelectric sources in others.

The ChooseEnergy.com® analysts compile the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to create the January Electricity Generation Report. This report details the energy mix for each state using the most recent figures from October 2022.

Continue for more from the January Electricity Generation Report.

How the states stack up

Texas produces the greatest share of the country’s electricity, accounting for 12.5% of all energy production in the U.S.

The following is the state-by-state breakdown of energy production from major sources. This breakdown does not include energy generation from petroleum, geothermal, biomass, or other power sources because these sources make up a minimal percentage of the mix in most states. However, there are some exceptions. Petroleum, for example, accounts for almost 70% of Hawaii’s energy generation. Total electricity is measured in thousand megawatt-hours.

Coal has long been considered the “dirtiest” fuel for electricity production, though generators have made great strides in recent years to lessen the environmental impact. In October, 17.2% of the electricity generated in the U.S. came from coal.

Natural gas burns cleaner, but many environmentalists warn that it produces methane. Natural gas accounted for 42.2% of electricity in the U.S. in September. Here are the states that get the largest part of their electricity from natural gas.

Hydroelectric power is one of the cleanest energy producers and made up 4.7% of the national energy mix in October. Washington depends heavily on hydroelectric power – one of the reasons the state consistently has one of the lowest average electricity rates by state.

It likely comes as little surprise that California is the leading solar producer. However, in October Massachusetts got the highest percentage of its electricity from solar power. Nationwide, solar energy made up 5.5% of all electricity.

States along tornado alley lead the way when it comes to producing electricity generated from wind. But some unlikely candidates also are big producers. In October, wind power accounted for 10.5% of U.S. electricity.

Is nuclear power clean or dirty? It depends on your perspective. It produces a far smaller carbon footprint than coal, oil, or natural gas, so in that respect it’s clean. But there’s the problem of what to do with the spent fuel – it’s difficult to overlook that issue. Nuclear energy made up 18.8% of all electricity in the U.S. in October.

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